Time has come to make citizens aware that two of our most essential life support resource – clean air and potable water ultimately offered by biodiversity and that’s why we all should be concerned about biodiversity conservation
KRC TIMES Desk
To have an online celebration of the International Day of Biological Diversity, (IBD-2020), a Webinar was organised by Prof. Parthankar Choudhury under the banner of Ecological Brigade, Assam University, Silchar on 22nd May.
The panellists were Dr. Bibhab Talukdar and Dr. B. A. Daniel (Zoo Outreach Organization, Coimbatore). Dr. Talukdar spoke on, HOW MUCH ARE WE CONCERNED ABOUT BIODIVERSITY? and Dr. B. A. Daniel highlighted on PRIORITIES IN SPECIES CONSERVATION the webinar was moderated by Prof. Parthankar Choudhury.
Dr. Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Secretary General and CEO of Aaranyak in his audio-visual webinar highlighted why North East India is rich in biodiversity and said that NE India is having diverse altitudinal gradient from flood plains to snowcap mountains. This altitudinal gradient offers diverse habitats where many forms of plants and animals survive. He stressed on some unique species of North East India. He mentioned that deforestation, alteration of wetland habitats are larger threats to flora and fauna and overall environmental health of the region. He urges that time has come to make citizens aware that two of our most essential life support resource – clean air and potable water ultimately offered by biodiversity and that’s why we all should be concerned about biodiversity conservation.
Dr. B.A. Daniel, Scientist, Zoo Outreach Organization, Coimbatore spoke about priority requirements in biodiversity conservation with special reference to species. He mentioned that by the year 2020 we are completing UN Decade on Biodiversity but we will continue to do the activates for next decade on UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and Ecosystem Restoration ( 2021 – 2030 ).
Highlighting the activates of IUCN he mentioned that the Species Survival Commission focuses more on species prioritization, identify species that require species conservation by way of documentation, and taking up conservation action. The rate of species extension has been accelerated many folds compared to the natural rate of extension and hence intervention to slow down the rate of extinction is needed. Hence species prioritization and conservation education are on priority in biodiversity conservation.
The webinar was attended by few members from Bangladesh and Hungary besides about 70 others from the northeast and the rest of India.
